1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a portable patient lift apparatus for use by humans. More specifically, this invention relates to a portable lifting apparatus for assisting in lifting obese individuals in and out of a hospital bed or other locations and then transporting them to a different location.
Nursing staffs have the highest incidences of work-relate back problems of any occupation. The incidence rate continues to climb. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for a major portion of the cost of work-related injuries in the United States. A contributing factor is the fact that the American population has become one of the most overweight in the world. Nearly 97 million American adults are overweight. Of the 97 million overweight American Adults, it is estimated that 4 million are severely obese [Body Mass Index {BMI}>35 and 1.5 million [BMI>40] are morbidly obese.
With these rising numbers of severely and morbidly obese individuals come numerous complications relating to medical treatment. Besides the cost issue, healthcare providers must consider the daunting safety implications for both the patient and caregiver. One specific problem lies in simply providing a means for these patients to be able to rise or sit on the hospital bed or other locations without the risk of harm to the patient and/or the caregiver performing this task.
The movement of bariatric patients (a medical term derived from the Greek word “baros” meaning weight) produces special challenges to health care professionals. Internationally, bariatric patient is defined as an individual that has a BMI>30. Many studies have shown that health care workers are at the greatest risk for musculoskeletal injuries when dealing with bariatric patients, particularly in the sit-to-stand transfer mode. The best way to ensure safe patient handling is through the use of specialized mechanical equipment that is designed to meet the size and weight requirements of the bariatric patient.
One of the main benefits of the apparatus is that it requires only a single person to perform the sit-to-stand transfer function of the bariatric patient, which in turn will reduce the resources expended to perform this task.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many types of mechanical lift mechanisms on the market for bariatric patient lifting. Some of the present designs are inherently unstable in nature because of their basic design philosophy. Others are extremely large and bulky and can not be used effectively in the bariatric patient's room. In others the inability to transfer bariatric patients from certain types of wheelchairs or other assistive items because they contain certain obstacles is inherent to their design. One of the functions of the proposed device is to provide controlled unassisted lifting movement for the user. The inability of some bariatric patients to provide any self induced lifting ability in a normal manner without the chance of a fall is a major limiting feature of present mechanical lift device designs.
There are at least 6 types of mechanical lift mechanisms on the market today. They range from he following: 1) Powered Hospital bed that converts to a chair (known as a Total Care Bed System®); 2) Permanently mounted powered ceiling system; 3) Permanently mounted powered wall system; 4) A mobile powered sling lift mechanical device; 5) Mobile powered lift/stand mechanical device; and 6) Powered Standing Frame mechanical device. However, each of these types has at least one major deficiency.
The majority of the lift systems are some type of a sling mechanism. The sling is subject to several types of failures. The FDA has reported that there have been more than 50 deaths and over 500 patients have been seriously hurt because of failure of sling type lift systems. The following is summation of failures that caused death or severe injuries: 1) The patient fell to the floor when the strap that attaches the sling to the lifting frame failed; 2) The patient fell to the floor when the gravity-activated locking clip which holds the strap to the lifting frame failed; 3) The patient fell to the floor because of the patient's movement within the sling allowed the sling to slip out of the spreader bar; 4) The patient fell to the floor because the sling that was used was too large for the patient; 5) The patient fell because the lifting frame failed because of excessive load; and 6) The patient fell to the floor because the lifting mechanism the raises and lowers the jib failed resulting the sudden drop of the jib.
The ceiling lift is one of the newest types of patient lift systems and has been available in the United States for several 5 years. The main disadvantages associated with the ceiling lift system are the installation of overhead tracks and failure and/or stoppage of the electric drive motor unit. A track must be procured and installed in each room that requires patient transfer capabilities. Room to room transfer with the ceiling lift system will be difficult. One problem is the removal of doorway headers and replacing them with some type of header assembly that will let the ceiling lift system pass from room to room but still provide privacy to the patient. Also load conditions on the ceiling and walls must be considered in the installation of this type of patient lifter.
The wall mounted lift system is similar to the ceiling lift system except the lifting motor unit is attached to a wall mounted jib rather than a track. The main disadvantages associated with the wall mounted lift system are the limited transfer range and failure and/or stoppage of the electric drive motor unit.
The powered mobile sling lift system also known as the Hoyer style lifter is the most commonly used. The main disadvantages associated with the powered mobile sling lift system are the ability of the caregiver to maneuver the lifter once a patient is loaded into the sling, failure jib mechanism and/or failure and/or stoppage of the electric lift motor unit.
A major problem with the use of any sling lift system is the fact that the patient requires a lift team (two or more caregivers who are training in proper lifting techniques) to move the bariatric patient on to and off the sling. Another problem is to provide the necessary force to move the lift mechanism to the desired location. To instruct the patient to remain motionless while being lifted to reduce the chance of lift mechanism instability is another concern.
The powered mobile sit/stand system differs from the three previous mentioned lift systems in the fact that the patient must be cognitive and provide some cooperative effort in the lifting task. The patient must possess some muscle tone in at least one lower limb, trunk and at least one upper limb. The main disadvantages associated with the mobile sit/stand system are the clearance required for the legs and/or maneuver the lifter once the patient is loaded on the lifter.
The powered standing frame system is similar to the mobile sit/stand system but it provides for a work area so that the patient can perform various tasks while standing without the fear of falling. The main disadvantages associated with the powered standing frame system are the ability of the caregiver to maneuver the system once a patient is standing in the device, failure of the control mechanism and/or failure and/or stoppage of the electric lift motor unit.
As mentioned above the Total Care Bed System® is not a lifting mechanism per se, it only positions the patient from a prone to sitting position but does not lift the patient out of the bed and transfer the patient to a new location.